Endangered Animals

When you think of animals, what do you think? Do you think of pets such as dogs, cats, and fish, or farm animals like pigs, cows, and horses?  Maybe you think of native wild animals of the U.S for example deer, bear, and eagles, or other wild animals for instance elephants, giraffes, and lions.  Well when I think of animals I think of all of them. I love animals they’re so interesting they can’t talk but they listen.  For this post I’m going to tell you about the top ten most critically endangered animals.

Starting at number ten is the South China Tiger, there was estimated to be about 4,000 in the wild in the 1950’s.  In the decades to follow the South China Tiger was hunted as a “pest”.  In 1979 the Chinese government banned hunting it, in 1996 there was estimated to be only 30-80 tigers left.  The South China Tiger has not been seen in the wild now for twenty-five years.

In the number nine spot is the Sola, the Sola was discovered in 1992, it was the first large mammal discovered for more than fifty years.  It was found in vietnam and it resembles an antelope.  The sola male and female have horns and they have white stripes but they are very rare.  The down fall to the Sola is the fact that they are getting caught in snares meant for wild boar, sambar and muntjac deer.

For number eight the Pangolin takes the spot.  The Pangolin is a scaly, it is also known as as the scaly ant eater because it eats ants.  The Pangolin is found in two different continents and  there are eight different species.  Four are in Africa and the other four are in Asia.  Sadly they are hunted for their scales and their meat so they are critically endangered.

Number seven is the Mountain Gorilla, the Mountain Gorilla is split in two.  Mainly based on the areas they live in, half live in Virunga Mountains, the other half is located in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda.  The Mountain Gorilla is a subspecies of the eastern gorilla, but since they are living in two different groups some think they may be two different subspecies.  They are unfavorably being pushed into areas where there is a very slim survival chance by humans.  

The Leather-back Turtle brings in the number six spot, the Leather-back Turtle migrates a lot in the Pacific and Atlantic ocean to feed on jellyfish. The Leatherback Turtle is very spread out but their population is decreasing.  Some places say that they are vulnerable others say the Leatherback Turtle is critically endangered  

Number five is the Javan Rhino.  Out of five different species of Rhino the Javan Rhino is one of the most endangered.  The Javan Rhino last in Vietnam was poached in 2010.  There are estimated to be only about 60 individuals left.  They are grey with a single ten inch horn.  Unfortunately poachers threaten to make them go extinct.

Number four is the Hawksbill Turtle, found in many tropical oceans.  The Hawksbill Turtle eats sea sponges but they also eat sea anemones and jellyfish like the Leatherback Turtle.  They like all organisms are very important to their food chains.  Their shells have very intricate patterns, they are overlapping scales.  They are hunted for their shells, sold as tortoise shells.

In the third spot is the Cross River Gorilla.  The Cross River Gorilla is a subspecies  of the western gorilla.  They live in rugged areas that scientist have little access to.  They are critically endangered because they live in different groups and hardly ever make interact with each other this brings on the problem of reproducing correctly.  

The Black Rhino is number two.  European hunters are to blame for the early decrease in Black Rhinos.  It is very upsetting to know that it wasn’t unusual to have five to six killed per day.   Another depressing fact is that they were hunted for either food or flat out amusement.

Number one is the Amur Leopard.  The Amur Leopard, a subspecies, lives in eastern Russia.  They are also known as  the Far East leopard, the Manchurian leopard or the Korean leopard.  They are being threatened to go extinct by people poaching their prey.  Also illegal wildlife trade threatens them, their skins were being sold for 500 to 1000 dollars each.

After reading this post I hope you have a deeper respect for animals and their habitats.  If you mess with one little thing in an ecosystem the whole thing will be messed up.  Also I hope you know what poaching will do to our world if we continue to do so, it will deplete us of our resources and eventually destroy the Earth.  

 

 

thanks to:

goodpixgallery.com

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/directory?direction=desc&sort=extinction_status